Keywords
digital literacy, information literacy, digital learning, university academics, academic libraries, library resources, higher education
Description
When academics receive emails that start with “Wassup bro?” and students think digital literacy means “computer skills for old people”, how does the library bridge the gap between students and academics? Increasingly, libraries play a pivotal role in supporting learning in this critical space. However, more could be done. Libraries need to advocate for digital literacy as a legitimate capability that should be embedded into the curriculum rather than an optional extra.
In 2018, The University of Queensland Library undertook a project to create digital literacy modules to enable students to develop digital capabilities that would “fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society” [JISC, 2014]. These modules were designed to blend into the curriculum, rather than as a package of stand-alone “library skills”. To foster academic engagement, the modules also had to reduce teaching pain points such as badly worded emails, assignments saved in incorrect file formats, backlit videos and presentations full of images infringing copyright requirements.
The project team collaborated across The University of Queensland (UQ) to ensure the modules met the needs of students, academics and central services. Modules needed to integrate with learning management systems and University courses and appeal to students who told us they were “too lazy to look outside my course site” or “won’t look at anything but Google”. The modules were designed to be used as assessment items or embedded at the point of need. They also build capabilities that are vital once students leave university.
This paper will discuss how the project team developed digital literacy resources that academics want to embed, and students want to use. It will describe the research carried out with students and academics and how the research findings shaped the module design process. It will also outline the challenges of working in a complex organisation to support learning, and the lessons learnt including the need to support staff learning as well as students when it comes to digital literacy.
Included in
“What’s Up, Doc?”: Selling Digital Literacy to Academics
When academics receive emails that start with “Wassup bro?” and students think digital literacy means “computer skills for old people”, how does the library bridge the gap between students and academics? Increasingly, libraries play a pivotal role in supporting learning in this critical space. However, more could be done. Libraries need to advocate for digital literacy as a legitimate capability that should be embedded into the curriculum rather than an optional extra.
In 2018, The University of Queensland Library undertook a project to create digital literacy modules to enable students to develop digital capabilities that would “fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society” [JISC, 2014]. These modules were designed to blend into the curriculum, rather than as a package of stand-alone “library skills”. To foster academic engagement, the modules also had to reduce teaching pain points such as badly worded emails, assignments saved in incorrect file formats, backlit videos and presentations full of images infringing copyright requirements.
The project team collaborated across The University of Queensland (UQ) to ensure the modules met the needs of students, academics and central services. Modules needed to integrate with learning management systems and University courses and appeal to students who told us they were “too lazy to look outside my course site” or “won’t look at anything but Google”. The modules were designed to be used as assessment items or embedded at the point of need. They also build capabilities that are vital once students leave university.
This paper will discuss how the project team developed digital literacy resources that academics want to embed, and students want to use. It will describe the research carried out with students and academics and how the research findings shaped the module design process. It will also outline the challenges of working in a complex organisation to support learning, and the lessons learnt including the need to support staff learning as well as students when it comes to digital literacy.